Bitcoin prices eased off their highs Tuesday as resistance at $9,000 to the No.1 digital currency held, capping gains across the board.

Once again, regulatory issues dominated the news with the European Central Bank weighing in why bitcoin BTCUSD, +2.51% isn’t their problem, stating “it is not the ECB’s responsibility to ban or regulate bitcoin.”

CryptoUK becomes U.K. self-regulatory body of cryptocurrencies

As regulatory issues continue to stifle growth and the integrity of the crypto market, seven U.K. companies have come together to form what they hope will become the industry-standard code of conduct within the digital-currency space. The company, CryptoUK, includes a number of exchanges and trading platforms, including leading digital exchange Coinbase.

“The Code of Conduct is at the heart of everything we do. It is not finished. It will be improved and refined, in collaboration with industry, policy makers and others. We hope it can form the blueprint for what a future regulatory framework will look like,” Iqbal V Gandham, chair of CryptoUK, said in a statement.

ECB: Bitcoin is not for us

In a report Tuesday, the ECB appeared to pour cold water on bitcoin as a viable financial asset.

In the report, the central bank said its problems include the lack of anything tangible backing it and its excess volatility. “Bitcoin is a speculative asset. In other words, it is something that you can gamble on to make a profit, but with a risk that you will lose your investment,” the report said.

The ECB joins a long list of central banks and regulatory authorities that continue to weigh in on the concerns they have with bitcoin and other digital assets. Officials in the U.S. have been coy in their bitcoin rhetoric. In November, New York Federal Reserve President William Dudley said the Fed had discussed digital currencies, but added that he was skeptical with coins, saying, “I think it’s really more of a speculative activity.”